Abel Góngora is a longtime animator working with Science Saru, and his opening sequence for Dan Da Dan’s first season, animated to Creepy Nuts’ “Otonoke,” really stood out in its dynamic use of silhouettes, freezing on characters in motion, and gorgeous environment shots, really helping to set the mood and tone for the series and being a great indicator of its cinematic qualities.
For Dan Da Dan’s second season, Abel took on co-directing duties alongside first season director Fuga Yamashiro, his first series directing role since Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. With the first three episodes of the second season being screened in U.S. theaters in a compilation film called Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye, we had an opportunity to interview Abel about stepping up to the role of co-director for the season. Abel discussed the collaborative process between him and Yamashiro, his approach to color theming, and his reference points for the visual style and action animation in the series.
While Abel spoke incredibly humbly about his work, his artistic vision for the series is bold and exciting, taking already great source material and plussing it in ways taking full advantage of the medium to be the best possible experience of the story in animated form. Read on to learn more about Abel Góngora’s directorial input on Dan Da Dan and what you can look forward to in the Evil Eye film and the rest of season two!
Questions and responses have been edited for length, clarity, and emphasis. If you’d like to listen to this interview, check out the latest episode of Manga Mavericks @ Movies on Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye, in which we also interview the English dub cast!
Abel, what was the collaborative process like between you and Fuga Yamashiro as co-directors on the season? How did your experience as the series director of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off inform your approach to directing Dandadan?
Of course, directing another show is always like a big lesson. So everything you learn you can use later. But Dandadan has a very precise direction from season one. So I mainly tried to follow that. I didn’t want to change [anything] or make something very different.
And also like, because I’m co-directing with Yamashiro-san, yeah, we kind of have to agree on many things, but it’s kind of smooth because we have many points in common. We have a similar background. We have similar opinions about animation and cinema, and so it’s not so difficult to agree on things. And I also think I have a lot to learn from him, and maybe he has something to learn from me so sometimes we enjoy. Of course, it can be difficult, but it’s been smooth so far.
Normally we share half of the episodes. So each of us have a half of the season, and then, of course, we check some things together, and some things we check separate. It depends on the episode. But yeah, I’m doing the beginning, and then he does another arc, and then I do, a little bit later, some more episodes.
From the interview included with the Evil Eye arc screening, it definitely seems that you two really bounce back and forth with each other really well, and that’s awesome. And so you really took the helm with the beginning of the Evil Eye arc and some material towards the end of the season, it sounds like?
Yeah, kind of yeah.
So in terms of your prep work for going into directing season, you mentioned during that interview in the Evil Eye screening, that you watched a lot of horror, Hong Kong cinema, and Japanese movies focused on small towns to kind of prepare for directing the feel and the setting of the arc. Were there any particular movies that really inspired you in how you approached a specific moment in the show?
No, I don’t think there is like really one movie (in particular). It’s more like trying to get the mood and some ideas come in, like just trying to feel more how they are done and some… I don’t know, it’s more like general influences. I don’t think there is one movie in particular, I will take (from). We also don’t want to make it feel like it’s a copy or anything, so we try not to get too much influence. But yeah, it’s just more watching those kind of films, because I didn’t watch a lot of horror movies before. So I thought that I needed some training in that.
Dandadan is such an interesting mix of both horror and action. So to find different reference points for those different sensibilities must have been really interesting. I think it definitely shows. You mentioned in that interview in the film about Naki Kito’s martial arts moves in particular, and I really enjoyed that choreography.
Oh cool. Thank you.
But also, that look for that part of the season, the Evil Eye arc, was kind of defined towards the end of season one in the back half, and Yamashiro-san was talking (in the interview included with the film) about how it was inspired by a certain type of Kadokawa film. How did you get acclimated to that kind of style that was already kind of preset by the end of the first season, and then how did you work with Yamashiro-san to develop the look for the material after the Evil Eye arc?
Yeah, the beginning is really following the first season, last episode: same setting, same character design. So when I came to the project was already kind of decided. I didn’t participate that much at the beginning, and I also kind of [started] to make more decisions towards the second episode. And then, when the Evil Eye arc is finished, it’s gonna be more like Yamashiro’s part of the direction. So I help him sometimes, but I don’t decide too much. And then, later on, I’m back, so I had more say in the episodes that happen after [the arc following the Evil Eye arc].
I think one of the things that is really striking about Dandadan is its use of color theming and the color scripts of the show, and it’s something that Yamashiro particularly praised you for in how you decided that bluish-purple color theming for the Evil Eye. I was interested in what inspired the choices you made for the color scripts and theming seen in the Evil Eye arc, such as with Evil Eye and the golden brown color used for the [Mongolian Death Worm] and the underground-like lair that it has.
So, yeah, we always thought [the Evil Eye] would be purple. But then we decided the balance with the other, with the worm’s color, because it’s the first time we have two enemies in Dandadan at the same time, I guess. And so then we needed to find out exactly what purple [we should use]. And then I thought about pushing more, a little bit more, to the one you can see on-screen like behind you*. Like, it’s maybe a little bit more pink than [what’s on] the cover [of the manga]. So it was based on the cover of the Manga, you know, but then we wanted to have a good balance with the orange of the worm that was already decided before. And the worm has this sepia influence on the environment, so we wanted to find which purple would be a good contrast with this sepia color. And then we needed to play. We needed to decide how to play with them in the scene, like when they change, and how they change, and sometimes they smooth, they are in the background and it goes like a fade from one to the other, so it was quite complicated to decide. The team was sometimes very confused about what to do. But yeah, that was a lot of work. But yeah, that’s how we decided. And then in the future episodes, we also try new things. We have like different colors, like a concept, and every enemy we need to find [one]. How to deal with the color is one of the challenges of the show, but it’s also fun.
*Abel is referring to a poster for season 2, seen below.
Nice. There are definitely characters that I’m interested to see what you do with in terms of their color themes going forward.
Are there any other particular directorial choices you made with the Evil Eye arc and the season as a whole that you would like fans to really pay attention to, that you’re really proud of?
Yeah, I think the way Jiji is kicking the orb – I mean Jiji when he transforms into Evil Eye – the way he is fighting and kicking the ball is really cool because we don’t see it in the manga, and also we needed to add the movement of the to what you see in the manga. So I think that that’s very exciting, and I wanted to push the way he kicks the ball. And then we added some kind of flips that are based on the real movement that some people can do that really amazed me when I was looking for ideas and watching references on social media. So I thought that turned out to be really cool, and also the animators did a great job on that.
Yeah, the martial arts, the action animation in Dandadan, is always so excellent. And so it’s interesting to hear that you looked at different reference points to real life, like to how people move in martial arts, for reference for that animation. So that’s really awesome.
Yeah, all of those movements are based on real [people]. Of course, we push a little bit for the animation. But it’s amazing that people can do that actually!
Yeah, and it’s so awesome that you also kind of go take what is in the manga and then go beyond. This is something that, I believe, is also discussed in the interview in the film. It’s like really thinking about ideas that Yukinobu Tatsu might have had and wanted, and just filling in those gaps in the manga to make you think. “Oh, this was in the manga!” But no, this is original to the anime. And I think that the fact that you’re able to match that spirit and create material that so seamlessly fits in and feels so a part of the material like it was always there is really incredible, and a lot of fun.
Oh, thank you very much.
Abel, thank you so much for your time speaking with me today. I am a big fan of Dandadan. I’ve really enjoyed seeing the first couple episodes of the Evil Eye arc and am excited for the rest of the season. Is there any parting message you want to give fans to look forward to when seeing the theatrical screening and the rest of the season when it comes out in July?
Yeah. Well, I think that after the film you have the next episode [which] is really the climax of the arc. So I can say it’s really amazing, and please look forward to it. And then, later on, we have like heavy metal. We have kaiju. We have robots. A fight in an opera that is really amazing. So yeah, please look forward to it.
Oh, my gosh, yeah, you mentioning that Kaiju… I know exactly what you’re referring to as a manga reader. I was wondering if you’d get to that this season, I’m so excited to see that character and that fight, So really, really excited, Abel, thank you so much, and excited for the show when it drops in July.
Thank you.
Thanks again to Abel Góngora for taking time to talk with us and GKids for setting up and arranging this interview! Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye is playing in theaters now and season two will stream on Netflix and Crunchyroll starting July 4th!
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